


Der Geschichtenerzähler

by themysteriousinternetentity



Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Girl Genius Event Week 2018, One Shot, fair warning here i refer to the geisterdamen as "weissdamen", that's another canon term for them but fandom never uses it so i wanted to clarify, that's who that is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 00:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16230302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themysteriousinternetentity/pseuds/themysteriousinternetentity
Summary: In another world, Sparks do not rule. Mad science does not run rampant- but magic does.





	Der Geschichtenerzähler

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a ton to gisho for beta reading! I really appreciate you!
> 
> Edit:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Genius and make no claims of such. I write fic for fun and to show my love for the comic. I make no money off of this and do not want to. My works are not approved by, sponsored by or affiliated with Studio Foglio LLC or Airship Entertainment.

_Now this isn’t a fairy tale like your mamas would tell you when they’d tuck you into bed at night…well, not exactly. Oh, they’re out there all right. But they’ve been quiet of late, and folks have forgotten the truth of matters. Suppose I’ll have to teach you a bit._  
_  
William Heterodyne had never been human. He was the child of a King, himself raised to be a King.  
He had never been human- but like so many of the People before him, he was fascinated by the humans. He called himself “Bill” and went out among them, his brother willingly following. They were so tiny yet fierce, the humans. They had a fire in them that none of the fae could match. He was fascinated by how much they cared. His brother took a more academic route, noting the hypocrisies the humans ignored- how they claimed to be better than the People because they had their “principles of Good and Evil,” yet would blatantly lie about the smallest things.  
William and his brother hunted like their father and his father before him, but they hunted differently. They hunted only the humans that the other humans had rejected- murderers, thieves, every sort of criminal. The distinction meant nothing to them, but the worship and joy of the humans amused Bill. They began to call for him, eventually. “Save us!” They would cry.  
Foolish tiny humans, to forget his father so quickly.  
(Bill and Barry were charismatic, yes. But they were not good. Kinder than their father, yes. Helped people, yes. But everything has a price. And if they aren't there to collect? Agatha will be.)  
_  
Lucrezia was born human. This would not do.  
She was hungry. For power, for knowledge, for _everything._ Hunger like that, backed by magical power like hers? It draws attention. She was ruthless, and They liked that. She gathered power. 

Lucrezia wasn't quite human anymore. 

When she met a human man who rode with the Hunt, she saw her chance. When she saw a chance to earn favor with the King, she took it. And when the Queen of Winter died without an heir? Well, someone had to step in.  
If Bill were wise, he would have broken off their romance then. Instead, the King of Summer wed the Queen of Winter.  
_  
There were Rules that had to be followed. A child belonged to her parents, or to those who could _take_ her.  
Barry had told Bill he was a fool. A King of one Court wed to the Queen of another? He was right, it ended poorly, and both were gone. And now HIS niece was being kept among the Weissdamen. Pfah! That was no place for a child of Summer. She would _wilt_.  
So he went to take back his niece.  
He was caught.  
He was much more powerful than the child. In exchange for him, they agreed to a deal. She would be left in a human town, far from both strongholds. A changeling. Neither Court would touch her unless she sought them out. Barry grinned a cold, toothy smile. Heterodyne blood would out. Mechanicsburg would not be left without a Queen for long.  
And once she held the Court? Well. Once she was safe, he could see to his _own_ return.  
_  
Agatha was different. She had known this for a long time.  
She tried to work with metal, but it burned. She learned to hide this quickly, and stood back to take notes for the other students instead. She tried to work magic, but it wasn't _right_ how they did it here. 

Her parents refused to let her leave the city. They feared something. She didn't know what they feared, or why she couldn't go where the other girls and boys her age could. 

One night, she was angry and tired and had bumped into an iron wheel in the streets. She had had enough of the city full of people. What could a brief walk outside the gates hurt?  
The full moon glinted off the lazy creek that flowed past as she reached the edge of the forest. She sat down on a smooth stone by the water, listening to the frogs croaking. The moon passed the tops of the trees before she turned to go home and came face to face with a Jaeger. His sharp teeth glowed in the night, his eyes were bright, and his smile was just a bit too large for the face that held it.

The Jaegers liked her. She had always been told this was a bad thing.  
But they told her they wouldn't hurt her  
and they couldn't lie

They never carried iron. They never asked her to work spells, but were thrilled when she chose to do so. The magic that came naturally to her had always terrified humans, but they loved it. She felt like she could be herself around them for once.  
She kept sneaking out of the city. They were always there when she came, different ones every time. She didn't know how, but they always knew.  
It continued like this, through winter and spring and into the summer. All was well until the Wulfenbachs came to town. 

The Wulfenbachs _did not like fae._  
_  
Gil was human. He **knew** this.  
Gil was very, very human. His father would stand for nothing less. 

There were other things he knew: His father hated fairies. His father had not spoken to him until he was ten. His father refused to speak of his mother.  
(If he always wore gloves he could forge iron with no more than a rash. If he was loud and blunt and open, no-one expected him to lie).  
(he lived in a city of iron and steel and it burned burned burned-)  
_  
Klaus was human, but he’d chosen to ride with the Heterodynes anyway. He’d known it would be a mistake, but he’d never expected it to end like this.  
He had known that he himself would pay a price, but his children?  
_all he’d tried to do was warn Bill that Lucrezia had her eye on the Winter throne. He should have known she wouldn’t let that stand._  
_forget that he was why she’d ever joined the Hunt to begin with_  
_(forget that he’d loved her once too)_  
he'd make sure Gil wasn't caught in it like he was.  
there was no hope for Zeetha, she was fated to be a Queen. but his son? maybe his son could escape  
but he forgot all the while that Gil _wasn't human_ he wouldn't be caught he'd do the catching  
(he knew but he didn't want to know he refused to remember)  
Gil is _his._ That's all that matters, right?  
_  
Zeetha had been fascinated by humans. She had been eager to leave the Court and see them going about their normal little lives. This had been her undoing.  
She wandered. When people asked, she told them she searched for her home. This isn’t entirely true. She had forgotten where her home was, yes. But she knew where it had been.  
She didn’t forget because she was careless or didn’t pay attention. The knowledge was taken from her.  
She searches, but it’s not for her home.  
Zeetha is cursed, and she searches for her cure. She searches for her Zumil.  
_  
There are all kinds of people in the circus. They don't ask too many questions. Some are changelings driven out, some so very human but still never quite at home among the humans. Their rules are simple. No bargains are made but no questions are asked. All are welcome, and much can be hidden in the magic on the stage.  
(Okay yes vampires aren't welcome but we've had the hunter for ages and she doesn't really have anywhere else to go?)  
_  
Tarvek was human, but he shouldn't have been.  
His father loved fairies, had spent his life seeking their favor. Had left out honey and milk, banned iron from the town, gone to crossroads at midnight under a full moon and sat in fairy circles in the woods and-  
His father hadn't wanted human children or a human wife, but that was what he'd gotten. So Tarvek had learned to be what his father wanted.  
Tarvek _could_ lie. But he could also twist his words until you didn't know which way was up. This is what would save him. This is what would surely save Anevka.  
_he'd known his father wished for a changeling, but to trade away his sister to a Court for_ this, _and expect him to claim it as his sister?_ ~~would he be next~~  
Everyone said the strongest Court was Mechanicsburg, whether they had their King and Queen or not. So that was where he would go. He would bargain and bet and trade and earn enough favors to find her and get her back. No matter what it cost.  
_  
Lord Blitzengaard had thought Aaronev's interest in fairies was a silly passion for a silly man. He was a fool, convinced that there was no more to this world than what he could see.  
When Martellus returned from a visit to his uncle with a vicious bite scar and a hankering for raw meat, his father bought the story about the rogue hunting dog, hook line and sinker.  
If Martellus always slept away the day after a full moon, so what? There was never anything he needed to do those days. (His sister Seffie made sure of that).  
Lord Blitzengaard thought it silly that Seffie refused to return to Sturmhalten- _it's not as though you're afraid of OUR dogs, they put down the one responsible-_ but he allowed it nonetheless.  
_nothing happened. the shiver down his spine meant nothing. the way that Martellus would growl sometimes, the missing sheep and mutilated deer_ it had been a hunting dog. Nothing else.  
_  
Tarvek was lucky. He chose to go to the ones whose Queen had been raised as a changeling, was still young and had some sympathy left. Whose newly chosen consort (and who would have thought, a Wulfenbach!) had met him and spoke in his favor.  
He chose to go to the ones who were all too eager to fight anyone, but _especially_ the Weissdamen (the Uncle of the Queen had finally returned, and they were preparing to seek blood).  
If he’s kept in the Court while his sister returns home, well. Everything has its price, and this was one he’d expected.  
He has the favor of the Queen and her King, and as long as that lasts he is relatively safe.  
_thanks to his father he’s more comfortable here than anywhere he’s been before, and isn’t that a terrifying thought_  
He earns favors (he knows their favor won’t last)  
He survives.  
_  
(When Zeetha had taken the lost fairy under her wing, she’d had no idea that this was the Queen of a different Court. She’d seen kindred, a chance to do what that human witch had called “good” and begin to break her curse and earn her way homeward.  
And it had worked, hadn’t it?  
She’d found the stolen brother too.)  
(In retrospect though, the Jaegers really should have been a hint).  
_  
There are many within the Summer Court who have reputations of their own. The Jaegers of course, the Hunters who love to toy with their prey—and you might just be next. But there are others, say the whispers. Less obvious, true, but if their attention comes to rest on you? Well. You’d best hope it doesn’t.  
(Names have power. They aren’t fools enough to share theirs).

A shapeshifter, the rumors say. If you meet a strange woman, be kind but be wary. If you don’t offer proper hospitality, she may remember you when she reports back to the Hunt. They have to pick their victims somehow. (These days they may chase criminals, but wiser minds remember the old days- when a transgression as small as forgetting to offer milk for her tea led to terrible, terrible things).

The advisors to the Queen, known by many false names. Tulips, Heliotropes, Roses. If they come to you, they speak with her voice. Pray that they find no need for her to deal with you herself. Their own demands and punishments are bad enough, but they are practical. They have goals they wish to accomplish, and they won’t toy with you for their own pleasure. (For the Queen’s pleasure though? They will do many things).

The guardian of the treasury, unmistakable for his shape and size. Give him your treasures and he may leave your town intact—but remember that not all treasures are gold. (only fools attempt to take from the Great Dragon. If they’re lucky they become treasures themselves, kept for eternity. If not-)

There are others of whom it is dangerous to even speak. They prefer to walk among mankind, and when their cover is broken they are not pleased. If you think you see them, leave them be. If you were right they may leave a gift for your silence. If you speak out, you may be silenced forever.  
_  
_Now, my dear listeners, there is one more of whom you should know. The Storyteller, he is called. Now, now, don’t try to get up. You should know better by now, I’ve taught you enough._  
_My deal is simple: a tale for a tale. I’ve told you my tales—now what are yours?_  
_If they please me I might even let you wake one day, and warn your great-grandchildren of the dangers of giving your names to travelers you’ve only just met._  
_So! Stories…Let’s_  
_Start_  
_With_  
_YOURS._


End file.
